The University of Bristol is considering changing the date for our graduation (the class of 2022) to September onwards. This is completely unfair and inconvenient.

First and foremost, the decision excludes and discriminates against international students majorly. Hosting graduation months after the end of the academic year means that international students who leave to return home (many after a long time away) will have to fly back to attend, which can be very costly. Also, international students' visas expire in October. This means that if the University decides to host the graduation then or afterwards, the process of attending graduation will be made very difficult and almost impossible for some international students. Planning trips, if its for one person or their whole family, can be an extensive process and the University has completely dismissed that by continuing to make changes and be very obscure about the graduation plans, even though students have been requesting information for months. Especially throughout the pandemic, the University has been making decisions with little regards to international students, even though it constantly prides itself as being a 'welcoming home' for international students. No student should be ignored.  

Changing the date of the graduation to after the summer impacts the student body as a whole. Many students had planned for their tenancies to cover the graduation duration throughout the summer, and would have to find somewhere to stay upon returning in later months (and we all know how difficult that is in Bristol). Also, many students will be committed to jobs or further degrees by September, around the UK and around the world, and it will be severely inconvenient for them to take the time off to return to Bristol. The University has been arguing that the reason behind this delay is that the is priority for the previous classes to graduate in the summer. The alumni definitely deserve to graduate and celebrate, but if they are choosing to return any way – they can return at a later date instead.

The whole university experience for the cohorts within the class of 2022 has been irregular and undoubtedly challenging due to the pandemic. Graduating is a significant occasion. We are asking that our graduation is held in July and not later.